I’ve been getting this question a lot lately: Why forestry? With all of the challenges on the horizon, what made you ask Premier David Eby for this task?

One word: people.

When I served as an adviser to a former minister of forests, I was taken out of my element completely. A kid from Langford found himself engaging with people from remote, rural communities. Communities that had been devastated by mill closures and curtailments. Former premier John Horgan at the time had asked me to work with Ravi Kahlon, then-parliamentary secretary for forestry. Our task: Hit the ground and talk with people. And that’s exactly what we did.

The relationships and community connections we made stayed with me throughout my career as a ministerial adviser. These ties set me up to become a strong MLA and gave me the motivation to ask the Premier to appoint me as his minister of forests. I was not prepared to leave these communities behind and it’s become clear that I will never be.

When the Premier offered me this opportunity, I sat down and developed the three priorities that would guide my work as minister. First, we must restore confidence in the forestry sector. Our forests have supported our home since time immemorial and it’s time to remind people everywhere that B.C. has one of the most robust forest economies in history.

Second, my ministry will stand up for the workers who drive our forest industries. Without the hardworking people who operate machinery, who transport logs and who work in our mills, our sector would grind to a halt. They need a strong advocate who will keep that reality front and centre, and who will support them and who will create new opportunities for them to advance and to flourish.

Finally, we will honour the commitments our government has made to biodiversity and to reconciliation through the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan.

These three principles have been at the heart of every conversation I’ve had since becoming minister, whether with the Forest Service, industry, workers, First Nations or environmental organizations.

As I took my oath and began my work, I knew one file would occupy much of my time: softwood lumber duties. These unfair and unjust tariffs are set to increase massively in 2025, compounded by new tariffs, proposed by the incoming U.S. administration. Such measures pose a serious threat to B.C.’s forestry sector. As such, on my first day as minister, I sent a letter to my federal counterparts, urging them to stand up for B.C.’s forest economy. My end of the commitment is that I will do the same.

Early in 2025, I will bring together stakeholders across the sector to fight these duties and ensure that the federal government steps up to support this industry that is so essential to Canada’s economy.

One of my mentors, Chief Russ Chipps from the SC’IANEW First Nation, taught me an important lesson several years ago: Before you can build a relationship, you have to build trust. I took my first steps building trust as a new minister by travelling to Prince George and Vanderhoof within my first week. I sat at the same table as the workers and community leaders on the front lines, listening to what they need and ultimately what our sector needs for growth. At the end of the conversation, I made a commitment to return, again and again, to continue our work together. My ultimate goal is to ensure that their communities – and everyone in British Columbia – can benefit from a strong, sustainable and robust forestry sector for generations to come.

My work didn’t stop there. Over my first six weeks, I’ve visited the communities of Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Campbell River and Port Alberni. Next week, I will visit Terrace, Smithers, Houston, Burns Lake, Fraser Lake, Fort St. James, Quesnel and Williams Lake. I will also honour my previous commitment by then returning to Prince George and Vanderhoof. While on this tour, I will let each of these communities know that I am ready to work with them, to work for them and to get things done.

There’s a lot of work ahead and not a lot of time. People on the ground want action, and with me as their minister of forests, that’s exactly what they’re going to get.